City council urged to 'choose courage at a time when division is easy and hate is loud'

RACIST ‘COCKROACH’ AND ‘SCUM' COMMENTS SPARK LEADER'S ANTI-HATE DRIVE

- By EDDIE BISKNELL Local democracy reporter

A“NO place for hate” campaign will be launched across Derby in a bid to quash abuse, intimidation, bullying and harassment.

The campaign, backed by councillors at a Derby City Council meeting on Wednesday, included some members sharing their own experiences of abuse alongside claims the project was politically calculated.

Alongside the campaign, the council will ask officials to prioritise hate crime in the city and to seek additional support for victims.

Cllr Nadine Peatfield, Labour leader, who brought the motion, said: “In our city, there is no place for abuse. No room for hate. Only space for dignity, fairness and respect. Our city is stronger when we stand together. We reject hate in all its forms.

“We live in challenging times, where we are witnessing more rhetoric about division rather than social cohesion, more hate speech rather than calls for tolerance and more abuse directed at groups and individuals, instead of understanding.

“Do we want to be a city where intimidation, harassment and hate can take root, slowly corroding the bonds of trust and respect between neighbours?

“Hate will find no home here, abuse will find no safe harbour here, division will find no welcome here.”

She called on councillors to “choose courage at time when division is easy and hate is loud”

Cllr Sarah Chambers, Labour, said: “We are witnessing an explosion of hatred and division across the country, only now it is being cleverly rebranded, wrapped in the language as free speech”

She called the internet “a cesspit for unmoderated hatred and keyboard warriors”.